Harassed
by JSRobertson
Summary: Seaview is helping a company explore the Mariana Trench in the new bathyscaphe. Disturbing events take place making the admiral regret his decision.
1. Chapter 1

Harassed

By JSRobertson

The admiral was contacted by a company, A. R. Laboratories, to take their mini bathyscaphe* to the Sirena Deep in the Mariana trench so they could do some research on amphipods, ooze, xenophyophores and sea cucumbers in the deep trench. No _Seaview_ personnel would be needed except to launch the bathyscaphe. _Seaview _was just the vessel of transportation.

The only reason the admiral took this mission was to see how deep their bathyscaphe could dive into the trench and what they would actually find. This being one of the deepest trenches in the world there wasn't too many living things that deep.

They would have three civilians aboard. Lee really didn't like to have civilians on _Seaview_ as there seems to be more trouble when they're around but he knew the admiral wanted to take on this mission so he agreed. One of the civilians was a woman scientist who would handle the diving of the bathyscaphe, along with another scientist, Silas Howard. The owner of the company, Andrew Rosen, would also be on board as an observer. Janet was looking forward to have another woman aboard for a change. Unfortunately, she got sick and was replaced by Don Porter.

_Seaview_ sailed to Pearl Harbor to pick them up. The crew loaded all their equipment, gear and the bathyscaphe, which was bigger than the mini sub. They also picked up extra supplies Cookie would need including fresh fruit and fish.

The admiral came in the missile room as Lee and Janet were looking over the manifest.

"Admiral they sure are bringing a lot of equipment on board. Do they really need all these items?" Lee asked shaking his head.

"Most of these items are used to conduct the tests on the things they find in the trench. It can all go in the lab."

"Okay, sir," Lee replied as he signed the manifest and gave it back to Janet so she could put it in the file for this mission. She left the missile room and went back to the control room with the duty rosters she had typed up earlier.

They brought their own computer which would need a place to be connected.

"Sir, where would you like us to put their computer?" Kowalski asked the admiral.

"There's no room in the lab so just put it in Mrs. Crane's office. I'll tell her later they'll be sharing her office."

"Yes sir," Kowalski answered and took the computer to her office.

((()))

Since it would take four days to get to the Mariana Trench, they would depart Pearl before dawn the next day.

The admiral met the gentlemen topside and brought them down to the control room where he introduced them to Lee, Chip and Janet.

"Mr. Rosen, Mr. Howard, Mr. Porter I would like you to meet the captain of _Seaview_, CommanderLee Crane, the executive officer, Chip Morton, and Janet Crane, Lee's wife, and administrative assistant to all of us."

"Nice to meet all of you," they replied.

"If you should need anything, please don't hesitate to let any of us know," Lee told them.

They all shook our hands but when Mr. Porter shook Janet's hand he held on to it a little too long. She actually had to pull it away from him.

"Mr. Morton, please show our guests to their quarters. I believe their luggage has already been taken to their cabins," Lee asked Chip.

"Aye sir," Chip replied as he led them up the spiral staircase and showed them where their cabins were.

As they were walking away Janet heard Mr. Porter ask where the computer was and when could it be connected.

((()))

Since they were still in the harbor, the admiral decided to have dinner that night in the observation nose. _Seaview_ was the largest vessel at Pearl Harbor right now so she was docked at the largest berth which offered the best view of the harbor and a nice back drop for entertaining their guests.

Chip, Lee and Janet arrived just ahead of everyone and were looking out the windows when the admiral and the guests arrived.

Mr. Rosen had brought some wine aboard which they enjoyed before dinner. Since _Seaview_ was on a private mission, alcohol was allowed on the boat.

Cookie and the mess specialists set up a buffet with delicious appetizers of fresh oysters, shrimp and sushi to eat before dinner was served.

While eating the appetizers Mr. Rosen and Mr. Howard were talking to the admiral.

"Admiral we're very impressed on how large _Seaview_ is and the windows offer a magnificent view of the ocean. What keeps them from breaking?" Mr. Rosen asked.

"Gentlemen, the windows are made of a material I invented called herculite. If you want to see something spectacular, please come down tomorrow morning when _Seaview_ dives under the water," the admiral told them proudly as he always enjoyed talking about his 'front porch'.

Mr. Porter showed no interest in what they were talking about. He homed in on Janet as she stood next to Lee and Chip. He grabbed her hand and was stroking it.

"Mrs. Crane, I find it very interesting that you are the only woman on board. What is it you do on _Seaview_ and how long have you been here?" Mr. Porter asked.

"I'm the administrative assistant on board. I help Admiral Nelson, Commander Crane and Mr. Morton with their paperwork. I've been here a little over two years and there is no problem being the only woman on board, I'm just a member of the crew," she replied politely as she tried to pull her hand out of his grasp but he had a tight hold on it.

He never acknowledged that fact that she was married and that it was to the captain of _Seaview_. She was very uncomfortable talking to him and he never did say one word to Lee or Chip. Neither one of them noticed he held her hand the whole time he was talking to her.

When it was time for dinner, Mr. Porter directed Janet to a seat at the end of the table and sat down right along side of her. Mr. Rosen was already seated at the head of the table so Lee had to sit a few seats down from her. He could tell she was not happy.

Cookie served a dinner of roast beef, mashed potatoes, and green beans with fresh fruit and of course brownies for dessert.

"Admiral, that was a fantastic dinner. My compliments to the chef," Mr. Rosen exclaimed taking his napkin from his lap and putting it on the table.

"Cookie is the chef on board and he and his mess specialists take very good care of us," the admiral said happily acknowledging Cookie who was standing by in case they needed anything.

"Thank you sir," Cookie responded. "I'm glad you enjoyed the dinner." He looked at Lee and Janet and shook his head noticing how little food they ate.

"If you'll excuse us gentlemen, we have an early start in the morning getting _Seaview_ out of the harbor," Lee told them as he, Chip and Janet got up to leave. "Enjoy the rest of your evening."

"Mrs. Crane, do you need to leave too?" Mr. Porter asked taking her hand in his as she got up from the table.

"Yes sir, I will be up early also," she replied removing her hand as politely as she could without making a scene.

The three of them left for their cabins while the rest of the gentlemen enjoyed a nightcap and the gorgeous view.

"Well, what do you think of our guests?" Chip asked as they walked to their cabins.

"I'm not impressed by any of them and I don't care for Mr. Porter at all, there's something about him that irks me," Lee commented.

"Could it be because he took your seat?" Chip chuckled. "And I think you're a little jealous. He seems a little taken with Janet."

"Very funny, Morton. Watch out or you will have to take _Seaview_ out of the harbor. The last time you took her out, you scratched her paint and had to pay for dinner," Lee answered smiling but noticed Janet was very quiet instead of joining in the banter between Chip and him.

"Sweetie, are you alright? You were unusually quiet at dinner and hardly ate anything."

"I'm fine. Just wasn't that hungry. Good night Chip, see you in the morning," she replied as they got to Chip's cabin.

They got ready for bed and Janet fell asleep as soon as she lay down. Lee was a little surprised she fell asleep as fast did as he would have liked some evening exercise.

((()))

They were up at 0400 and after some morning exercise Janet was in a little better mood. Lee always made her feel better. They quickly got ready as they were running a little late.

As they made their way down the spiral staircase, she could see Cookie had already put a pot of coffee on the table in the observation nose. Chip was already in the control room with a cup of coffee waiting for Lee. Lee and Janet grabbed a quick cup before leaving the control room. The three of them climbed the ladder to the conning tower. The only time Janet was allowed up was when they leave Pearl Harbor or if Lee is going on or returning from a mission. She loved watching Lee and Chip direct the crew getting _Seaview_ out of the difficult harbor.

Once they left the harbor and were in open sea, Mr. O'Brien took over the conn while they went to breakfast. As they headed into the wardroom, Janet tensed up as Mr. Porter and the other two men were already there eating with the admiral and Jamie.

"I forgot something in our cabin. I will eat in a little while," she whispered squeezing Lee's hand and left.

Lee couldn't follow her as he needed to get on duty as soon as he finished breakfast. Chip was also a little surprised that she left them. So were the admiral and Jamie who saw her turn and leave. The other gentlemen had their backs to the door so they didn't see her.

((()))

Chip and Lee walked in and were served eggs, bacon, and toast along with some fruit by the mess specialists. They sat down next to the admiral and Jamie after getting some coffee.

"Where's your wife this morning? Sleeping in? She said she would be up early." Mr. Porter asked curiously.

Lee wondered why he wanted to know what his wife was doing. Controlling his temper, "No she forgot something and will be down later," Lee replied abruptly drawing a surprised look from the admiral at his tone of voice.

"That's too bad. I was looking forward to having breakfast with her. Mr. Morton, I need to set up the computer. Is everything I need available in the office I'm using?" Mr. Porter queried.

"Yes, sir," Chip replied. "I will make sure everything is ready for you to set up as soon as we're done with breakfast."

Lee and Chip finished breakfast and left the wardroom. Chip left with Mr. Porter and went to the office where they put his computer.

Lee didn't have time to check on Janet now but would make it a point to do so later in the morning. He went to the control room and relieved Bobby.

((()))

Janet never went down for breakfast that morning, instead heading right to her office and started work. She was working on some reports when Chip and Mr. Porter walked in. She didn't find out until this morning when she saw the other computer that Mr. Porter would be working with her in her office.

"Good morning Mrs. Crane," Chip said quietly, "Missed you at breakfast."

"Good morning Mr. Morton," Janet replied softly, "I forgot something in my cabin and had to go back."

"Just making sure everything is set for Mr. Porter to hook up his computer and it looks like everything is here."

Mr. Porter just needed to connect the cables and plug it in. As Chip watched him, he could tell he knew very little about computers. Chip did the connections for him.

"I'm sorry I need to go to the control room. If you need any more help, you can ask Mrs. Crane and she will get in contact with me and I will be able to help you later."

"Thanks for your help Mr. Morton. It looks like everything is working fine," Mr. Porter answered after he booted up the computer. "If I need anything more I will ask Mrs. Crane first."

Chip hoped they wouldn't need his help with their computer. He had a lot of reports to catch up on and was hoping to do that while they were diving in the bathyscaphe.

Janet wanted to leave the cabin as soon as Chip and Mr. Porter walked in. She was not happy he was going to be in there with her. She didn't like him but she knew space was limited and would have to work it out. Hopefully he wouldn't be in there when she was and if he was she would somehow work around him.

"I see we're going to be working together," Mr. Porter said coming over to her desk and grabbed her hand and patted it gently. She quickly pulled it away. _This man was definitely weird, _she thought.

"Yes, I will try to stay out of your way," she said tensely.

She would have to be careful on what she worked on when he was in there. She didn't want him to see any classified information or for that matter any information. She could also tell he wasn't too familiar with computers. He asked her a couple of questions about the computer that everyone should know. She liked him even less than before.

"I have to go to the control room, so if you need anything more it will have to wait until I get back," she said while she turned off her computer.

"No problem, I'm just going to check out our program and make sure it's ready to enter the data," Mr. Porter answered back winking at her. _This part of the mission was going to be real fun. She wants no part of me, _he thought. _But that isn't going to stop me._

She couldn't get out of there fast enough.

((()))

Janet went to the control room and sat in the observation nose as Lee directed the crew to dive the boat. She loved watching her glide under the water. The admiral was there with Mr. Rosen and Mr. Howard. While they looked out the windows, she could see they were in awe of how she slid so easily under the water.

"Chip, take over the conn for a few minutes, please. I want to check on Janet."

"Aye sir."

"What's wrong? You didn't come back for breakfast, did you eat?" he asked her gently.

"Not hungry. Did you know I would have to share my office with Mr. Porter?"

"Yes, I'm sorry I thought the admiral told you. If it's going to be a problem, I will try and find some other space but your office is very convenient as it is right down from the lab."

"I don't like Mr. Porter. He gives me the creeps but I will make it work. Please don't say anything."

"I won't. But please go get breakfast," he told her grabbing her hand and giving it a squeeze.

Janet went to the wardroom and did get something to eat and then went back to her office. She had a lot of work to do. The admiral had given her some letters to type, plus she had inventory to enter. When she got there Mr. Porter was gone. _This is going to be a long mission; _she thought thinking of ways to avoid him. _Cheech he was creepy_. 

*Bathyscaphe is a free diving self-propelled deep sea submersible consisting of a cabin crew similar to a bathysphere but suspended below a float rather than from a surface cable. Source: wikipedia


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_Seaview _had been sailing for four days and got to the trench early in the morning on the fifth day. Mr. Porter and Mr. Howard wanted to take their bathyscaphe out right away. They demanded the crew on duty in the missile stop what they were doing and launch it. The missile room crew had orders to wait until the admiral or Lee was there to supervise. Mr. Porter and Mr. Howard were not happy and were going to try and launch it themselves.

"Control Room," Riley called on the mic.

"Control Room," Lee answered. "What is it Riley."

"Skipper, can you please come down to the missile room right away."

"Is there a problem?"

"Aye, sir."

"I'll be right there," he answered, just looked at Chip and rolled his eyes.

The admiral and Mr. Rosen were in the observation nose and heard the conversation and went with him to the missile room.

When they got there, Mr. Porter and Mr. Howard were trying to work the controls that lowered the bathyscaphe.

"No one will lower the bathyscaphe unless Captain Crane or I are here in the missile room. Gentlemen is that clear?" the admiral said tersely. "We need to make sure _Seaview_ is in position for lowering the bathyscaphe. I will not put her or the crew in jeopardy."

"Yes admiral," Mr. Howard and Mr. Porter replied apologetically.

"Control Room," Lee called on the mic.

"Aye, captain."

"Chip is _Seaview_ in position for launching the bathyscaphe?"

"Aye, sir, everything is green."

"Thanks, Chip."

The missile room crew lowered the bathyscaphe to a depth of one thousand feet into the trench. Since it was a new vessel, Mr. Howard and Mr. Porter would only stay down there for a short period of time making sure it could take the pressure and it was water tight. They worked the manipulator arms and took some samples of the ooze on the side of the trench and some sea cucumbers and xenophyophores. They were down there about an hour when they were brought back aboard _Seaview_. The bathyscaphe on its maiden launch came through with flying colors. The men were very excited when they exited the bathyscaphe. They were anxious to get to the lab and analyze the items they brought aboard.

"Admiral would you like to help analyze the ooze?" Mr. Howard asked.

"I thought you would never ask," the admiral responded as he left for the lab with Mr. Porter and Mr. Howard.

((()))

On the way to the lab, Mr. Howard suddenly doubled over in pain and fell to the floor. The admiral reached for the nearest mic.

"Sick bay," the admiral called urgently.

"Sick bay aye," Jamie answered quickly.

"Doc come to the passageway by the lab right away, we have a man down."

"On my way." Jamie grabbed his bag and left with John, the corpsman, on duty.

He got to the passageway in short order and immediately began examining the downed man. Lee had heard the call for Jamie to come to the lab and was entering the passageway just as Jamie was examining Mr. Howard.

"Looks like his appendix," Jamie reported. "We have to get him to sick bay immediately."

Lee and John picked him up and carried him to sick bay. The admiral and Jamie followed along with Mr. Rosen. Mr. Porter took the samples to the lab and started to analyze them.

Jamie confirmed that Mr. Howard's appendix had ruptured and needed to be removed immediately. He asked John to start prepping him for surgery.

"Doctor, will he be okay?" Mr. Rosen asked concerned. "What caused his appendix to rupture?"

"Yes, if I get his appendix out right away and put him on an antibiotic he should be okay, but he will not be able to dive for the rest of the trip. It could have been the pressure from the dive or no reason at all. Please excuse me." Jamie said as he prepared for surgery.

"Damn," Mr. Rosen said as they left sick bay. "I've invested a lot of money in this trip. The bathyscaphe needs two men to operate it. Admiral do any of your men know anything about bathyscaphes?"

"I know a little bit and would be glad to help out," the admiral said a little too eagerly for Lee.

"Thank you, admiral for volunteering to help me out. Mr. Porter will take the lead on handling the diving and analysis. My only other problem is I don't have any one to put the data in the computer now that Mr. Howard is out of commission."

The admiral piped up, "Let me check with Mrs. Crane. She's pretty good at computers and maybe will be able to take on the job."

"Thanks, Admiral. I would really appreciate any help she could give us. I will make sure you get reimbursed for any extra time she puts in."

((()))

The admiral went to Janet's office on his way to the lab. She was sitting there staring at the computer screen.

"Everything okay?" the admiral asked as he came in. "I need a favor from you."

"Yes sir everything is fine. Just trying to see if there is a different way of doing this project," she replied, "What can I do for you?"

"Mr. Howard has to have his appendix out and he will be unable to do any diving for the rest of the mission. Mr. Porter will be taking over his position on the bathyscaphe. Since he will be unable to enter the data into the computer, Mr. Rosen asked me for someone to help out. Do you think you could do this? I realize it will cut down on the time you have to do your regular duties but I will try to get Chip and Lee to help out with that. He will pay you for whatever time you put in," the admiral stated.

"Does that mean I will have to work with Mr. Porter?" she asked tensely.

"Yes. He will be giving you all the data you need to enter. Is that a problem?"

"No sir. I will do whatever I can to help. Will they show me how to enter the data?"

"I will arrange to have Mr. Porter show you everything you need to know as soon as he is free. He's analyzing some samples now so it shouldn't be too long before he is finished. Thanks for helping."

"No problem sir."

The admiral left her office. She didn't want to work with Mr. Porter but she could tell the admiral was counting on her and she didn't want to let him down.

((()))

Before going to the control room, the admiral went to the lab to talk to Mr. Rosen and Mr. Porter.

"I checked with Mrs. Crane and she is willing to help you with the data entry. Someone will need to show her what and how to enter the data."

"Thank you very much Admiral," Mr. Rosen replied gratefully.

"I'm almost finished analyzing the ooze we brought aboard. I will show her what needs to be done," Mr. Porter said happily. "We're getting a late start so I hope she won't mind staying a little longer."

"She'll be waiting for you."

Mr. Porter was happy as a clam as he would get to spend a lot of time with her.

((()))

The admiral left the lab and went to the control room to talk to Lee and Chip.

"Janet has agreed to help Mr. Rosen and do the data entry for them. Do you think you could take on some of her work if she gets behind while doing the data entry?"

"Sure that won't be a problem sir," Lee answered not too thrilled that Janet would be working with Mr. Porter.

"I'll do whatever needs to be done to help her, sir," Chip replied too.

"Admiral, you're looking forward to going into that trench aren't you," Lee asked grinning.

"You bet. I can't wait until tomorrow when we go down again," he said returning the grin.

((()))

Janet was in her office catching up on some work when Mr. Porter came in with the data.

"Mrs. Crane since we're going to be working together may I call you Janet? And please call me Don," he said patting her hand.

"Okay," she reluctantly replied.

He turned on the computer and as they waited for it to boot up he explained what needed to be entered.

"I will give you sheets with numbers, compounds, comments and all kinds of data. There are columns on the spreadsheets that correspond to what I give you. The laboratory in Hawaii needs all the data at once. So once you start you will have to finish entering it before you can stop. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir."

"Please come to the computer so I can show you what the spreadsheet looks like and how to enter the data."

She went over to the computer and was stunned at all the data that needed to be entered. He made it seem a lot easier than it really was. He handed her the analysis he had already completed on the ooze, sea cucumbers and xenophyophores and grabbed her hand when he gave it to her. He wouldn't let go and started rubbing it. She had to yank her hand out of his hold.

"Mr. Porter, it's already 1800 hours. I'm meeting my husband and Mr. Morton for dinner at 1830 hours. As soon as I'm finished with dinner I will start entering in your data and won't stop until I finish. I hope that's alright with you," she told him.

"That will be fine. I'm meeting the admiral for dinner at that time to go over the plans for tomorrow's dive," he said smiling. "I will come back with you and make sure you understand what we need to have done," he told her rubbing her arm.

"_Yuk!_" she thought, "_he won't stop touching me_."

((()))

Janet went back to their cabin before going to dinner. Lee was there waiting for her and could see she was upset.

"Sweetie, what's wrong," he asked after he gave her a kiss.

"Mr. Porter. I know I told the admiral I would help out but I'm already regretting that decision," she told him after she kissed him back. "I just don't like him."

"Do you want me to say something to the admiral, maybe Chip could do it."

"No, please don't the admiral is counting on me just like the rest of you. Chip has a lot of work of his own work to do and since I can't do his work I'll make it work. I didn't have lunch today and I'm starving maybe that's why I'm upset."

"Let's go. I'm hungry too," Lee said as they walked out the door and met Chip on his way to the wardroom.

They ate dinner with the admiral, Mr. Rosen, and Mr. Porter. Cookie had made Lee's favorite dinner, lasagna. Even though she told Lee she was hungry, she didn't eat very much.

"Mrs. Crane, I can't thank you enough for pitching in and helping us out," Mr. Rosen said appreciatively. "Mr. Porter is looking forward to working with you."

"Thank you sir, I will do my best," she responded softly.

"I bet he is," Lee mumbled under his breath.

Chip heard what Lee said and also most choked on his food.

"Lee, did you say something," the admiral asked.

"No sir."

After they finished dinner, Janet went to her office to start working on entering the data. Mr. Porter followed her out and walked down the passageway with her 'accidentally' brushing up against her.

She sat down at the computer and was entering the data on the computer when Mr. Porter put his hand on her shoulder.

"No Janet, you've put that data in the wrong place. It goes here," he told her showing her on the screen where it went.

She shrugged off his hand and stopped typing.

"Please don't touch me," she said curtly. "If I'm not doing something right, you can tell me without touching me."

"Now, Janet, we're going to be working very 'close' together, so if you aren't careful and don't do what I ask, I promise to make things happen to people you care about," he said maliciously as he put his hand back on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

She continued entering the data with his hand on her shoulder.

((()))

Lee finished his walk around the boat and was surprised to see the light on in Janet's office. It was after midnight and she was still working. Lee walked in and she was still typing in the data. Mr. Porter was not there.

"Sweetheart, you're still working? I thought you would be done by now. It's after midnight."

"Is it really? I'm almost finished. I didn't realize how much time the data takes to enter. Did you know ooze is pelagic sediment of which at least thirty percent is composed of the skeletal remains of microscopic floating organisms?** Why does it take me over four hours to put all this data in when one sentence should cover it? Then there are the sea cucumbers. They are all echinoderms and are marine mammals with a leathery skin and an elongated body containing a single, branched gonad.*** How about a xenophyophore which are giant unicellular organisms found throughout the oceans at depths of up to 6.6 miles. But no everything needs to broken down by category, type, kind etc. I should be done in fifteen minutes. Will you wait up for me?" she asked sighing.

"Of course. I don't think you would make a good scientist and you better not let the admiral here you talk like that you know how technical he can get," Lee said grinning.

"Yes, but I don't have to put his data in. He does it himself," she stated.

He left her alone so she could finish up. She finally came to the cabin about a half hour later. He could see she was very tired and nervous. He was surprised at how nervous she was.

"Sweetie you seem awfully nervous. Is everything alright?"

"Yes, just worried about how much work I have to do tomorrow. The duty rosters need to be typed up and Chip gave me some reports that need to be done too. Plus the bathyscaphe is going out tomorrow and who knows what they will bring back. I might have taken on more that I can handle."

"I'll do the duty rosters for you tomorrow if you want."

"I'll let you know if I can't get them done. Thanks Lee," she said giving him a kiss.

They climbed into the bunk. Lee wrapped his arm around her and she fell sound asleep.

((()))

The bathyscaphe went out again the next morning and this time it went deeper and for a longer period of time. They brought back more ooze, xenophyophores, and sea cucumbers. The admiral was very excited about going down into the trench. He had never been that deep before in this part of the Sirena Deep trench but on the way back up there was a problem. Something went wrong with the oxygen in the admiral's side of the compartment.

"Control Room," Sharkey called frantically.

"What is it Chief," Lee answered quickly hearing the tone of his voice.

"Come to the missile room, something is wrong with the admiral and bathyscaphe,"

"On my way." Chip and Janet were at the plotting table with Lee and heard what was going on.

Double clicking the mic, "Sick bay get to the missile room on the double," Lee said.

Lee, Chip and Janet ran to the missile room just as the bathyscaphe was being brought up.

They got the admiral out as soon as it was clear of the launch area. He was unconscious from lack of oxygen. Jamie arrived, pushed everyone out of the way so he could examine the admiral. He gave him some oxygen and he started to come around. Jamie would take him to sick bay to be checked out further.

"What happened?" Lee asked Mr. Porter tersely.

"There was a malfunction of a valve on his side of the bathyscaphe. I will repair it immediately," he told Lee.

Mr. Porter looked over at Janet and smiled.

"Janet, are you okay?" Lee asked looking over at her. "You're as white as a ghost."

She felt like she was going to faint.

"I'm fine. Just worried about the admiral," she told him shaking like leaf. "I'm going with him to sick bay."

"Okay, I will be there shortly," Lee told her rubbing her arm which she quickly pulled away.

Lee was too worried about the admiral and what went wrong with the bathyscaphe to notice.

Jamie got the admiral to sick bay and made him lay down on the gurney. Janet followed them to sick bay and leaned up against the wall. Her legs were like jelly.

"I'm fine," the admiral said adamantly.

"I'll be the judge of that," Jamie replied tensely.

He checked him out and found nothing wrong with him.

"You seem to be fine but you will definitely not be diving in the bathyscaphe tomorrow. I'll check you again tomorrow to see if you can go out the following day."

"No problem Jamie," the admiral said with a grin, "it wasn't scheduled to dive tomorrow anyway."

Jamie just gave him a dirty look.

Lee and Chip came into sick bay just as the admiral was buttoning up his shirt and getting ready to leave. Janet was still leaning against the wall.

"Sweetie, are you okay? Maybe Jamie needs to check you out. You're still pretty pale," Lee said with a frown.

"No, I'm fine," she told him, "I need to go back to my office, I'm sure Mr. Porter has some data for me to enter."

"Alright, I'll come and get you for dinner," he told her giving her a kiss.

((()))

Mr. Porter had analyzed all the items he brought back from the dive and gave it to Janet to enter into the computer. As he handed it to her, he grabbed her hands and held them in his. She knew if she didn't let him touch her, he would keep his promise and hurt someone else. He stood over her shoulder rubbing her arms as she was typing in the data. It was hard to type so it took that much longer. She could barely contain the tears from falling down her face.

Lee went off duty at 1830 and went up to her office to get her for dinner. She was entering data and Mr. Porter was standing a little to close to her.

"Excuse me I would like to talk to Janet," Lee asked but almost had to push him out of the way so he could talk to her.

Even after Lee asked him to move he still stood close enough to hear their conversation.

"Let's go have some dinner," Lee told her as he reached for her arm which she pulled away. "You can finish this in a little while."

He was a little surprised she pulled her arm away.

"I didn't have lunch so I'm a little hungry," she told him as she got up quickly from the computer.

"Mr. Porter, will you join us?" Lee asked politely.

"_Damn,"_ she thought to herself. _"I don't want to have dinner with him. I can't stand him."_

"Yes, Captain, lead the way," he replied smiling at her and grabbed her arm as they left for dinner.

Lee could see she wasn't too pleased he invited him to join them for dinner but what could he do. He was standing right there.

The admiral and Mr. Rosen were already eating when they came in.

"Admiral I'm very sorry there was an issue with your oxygen valve. Mr. Porter as assured me that a new valve has been put in and there should be no further problems," Mr. Rosen said.

"I'm sure it was just freak accident," the admiral replied. "Mr. Porter, Lee and Janet please join us for dinner."

"Yes, sir," Lee replied.

They went over to the sideboard and Cookie filled their plates with chicken, rice and corn. There was hot apple pie for dessert.

They sat down at the table. Lee on one side of Janet and Mr. Porter on the other side, he was sitting so close to her she could barely lift her fork.

At dinner Lee could see she wasn't eating even though she said she was hungry. She just pushed the food around on her plate. She was also very quiet, much more than normal.

The admiral, Mr. Rosen and Mr. Porter had finished their dinners and left the wardroom.

Chip came in just as they were leaving. Cookie filled his plate and knew it would all be eaten. He would probably come back for more.

After the men left Janet said to Lee and Chip, "Excuse me. I have some work to finish for Mr. Porter. Lee, don't worry about the duty rosters I got the typed up."

She was going to take her plate to the bin for washing but Chip grabbed it and ate what she didn't. Cookie saw him take her plate and was very unhappy with the amount of food she had left.

"Okay sweetie. But what's the rush? The work for Porter will wait."

"No Lee, it won't. It has to be done completely. If I don't do it now I'll be up for most of the night," she told him sharply.

"Alright, I'll check on you later," he frowned at the tone of her voice.

"What's wrong with her? She seems a little nervous," Chip asked as he put a piece of pie in his mouth.

"I'm not sure. I think she took on more than she can handle and is worried about not getting all the work done. I told her I would help her but she didn't want it."

"I'll help too. I've finished what I needed to get done," Chip stated wiping his mouth with the napkin. "How about more coffee?"

"Sure," Lee replied as he handed Chip his cup.

"Chip, do you think that Mr. Porter is a bit weird?"

"I don't know, Lee, I haven't had too much to do with him."

They finished up their coffee and left the wardroom. Lee went to his cabin and Chip went to his.

((()))

Lee was working on some reports and noticed it was after midnight. Janet hadn't returned so he went to see how much longer she would be and found her sound asleep at the computer. She had almost all the data entered. He woke her up and walked her to their cabin. She got ready for bed and was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Lee was going to have to talk to the admiral about the amount of work that Mr. Porter needed her to do.

_When he wasn't doing any analysis, why couldn't he enter in the data?_ Lee thought.

**Ooze-Source: britannica

***Sea cucumber- Source: wikipedia

***Xenophyophore-Source: wikipedia


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

When they awoke the next morning, they both were very tired. Janet kept tossing and turning so Lee didn't get much sleep either. He noticed something was wrong as her as she was still very nervous. He's not sure if it's the overload of work or something else. But there is something definitely bothering her. If they weren't running late this morning he would have asked her but she ran out of the cabin as soon as she was dressed.

He found her at the computer entering the data from yesterday.

"I'm in trouble. This should have been completed last night. I hope Mr. Porter isn't too upset," she said nervously.

"Sweetheart, you fell asleep at the computer. Obviously you were too tired to finish. I'm going to talk to the admiral this morning about this. Maybe Mr. Porter could help out a little more."

"No, Lee, please don't," she pleaded. "I will catch up today since there is no dive scheduled. I will get all of my work done today. I promise."

"Sweetheart I don't care about the work. Please tell me what's going on. Something is not right. You're too nervous about this."

"I'll be fine. Please don't say anything."

"If you insist, I won't. But if I find you asleep at the computer tonight, I will go to the admiral."

"Lee, I need to tel..." before she could finish Mr. Porter came in to make sure she completed entering the data from yesterday's analysis.

"What were you going to say," Lee asked waiting at the door.

"Have a good day, see you at dinner," she told him hastily as he left the office for the control room.

"Very good, Janet," Mr. Porter said coming into the office. "You would have had a big problem if you told him about our deal. They sure drink a lot of coffee on this boat. I would hate to see anyone get sick," he bullied her as he handed her a cup of coffee, which she took and put on the desk having no intention of drinking it.

"Finish putting in the rest of the data. You will be able to do your regular work today as I've finished analyzing everything we've brought up," he told her as he took her hands and started rubbing the backs of them.

She wanted to grab her hands away from him but was too afraid of what he might do to the coffee.

((()))

Chip had given Janet some reports to type and Lee also had some that needed to be done. She doesn't know how she did it but everything was done by dinner. Lee and Janet even managed to have dinner together with Chip and Jamie.

Janet finished her dinner and got up to leave.

"Excuse me gentlemen. I have some things I need to take care of in the cabin."

"Need help?" Lee asked with a gleam in his eye.

"No thanks," she replied as she walked out the door.

She was going to take a shower and try to get some sleep but didn't want to tell Chip and Jamie that. She could tell Lee was hurt the she didn't want him to go back with her. But right now she didn't want to be around anyone.

"Lee, what's wrong with Janet. She seems extremely tired and nervous. Is she sleeping and eating?" Jamie asked with concern.

"No she isn't. She's not eating very much and sleeping not much either. I found her asleep at the computer the other night. She does seem very nervous but I don't know if there's a problem or just too much work. I'm going to have a talk with her before we go to sleep."

"If she needs something to sleep, I can put something in her coffee," Jamie offered.

"If you do that she'll be pissed for sure but if she continues to have a problem sleeping, I'll let you know."

As they left the wardroom, Jamie was shaking his head. Just what he needed another Crane with eating and sleeping problems.

Lee did his walk around the boat and went back to their cabin and found her sound asleep. He got ready for bed and climbed in the bunk with her. She would normally wake up when he came back from his walk but she didn't even know he was there.

_No sleep problem tonight,_ Lee thought.

((()))

They woke up early enough so they could have breakfast before the bathyscaphe would go on a dive later that morning.

They met the admiral and Chip in the wardroom. Cookie was waiting for them so he could put the food on their plates.

"Mrs. Crane I made your favorite breakfast this morning, pancakes. You didn't eat much dinner last night so figured you might be hungry this morning," he said as he put three pancakes on her plate and some fruit.

"Thank you Cookie."

She didn't want to hurt Cookie's feelings about making the pancakes especially for her but could only eat two of them and the fruit. Chip took the third one and wolfed it down.

After they put their plates in the dirty dish container, Lee wanted to know where everyone would be so they could launch the bathyscaphe.

"Admiral I'll meet you in the missile room after Jamie checks you out."

"Okay Lee. I'll be there shortly."

"Chip, please go to the control room and relieve O'Brien. Check to make sure _Seaview _is in positionso we can launch the bathyscaphe."

"Yes Lee," he replied as he left for the control room.

"Janet, where are you going?" Lee asked. "I need to talk to you once we launch the bathyscaphe."

"I'll be in my office making sure I've entered all the data and catch up on some work."

"I'll see you later," he said giving her a kiss as they were the only left in there besides Cookie.

((()))

Janet went to her office hoping Mr. Porter wasn't there but no such luck. He was there checking on the data she had put in the day before. He wanted to make sure everything was done before he went on the dive this morning.

"The laboratory in Hawaii is very pleased with the information you've been entering," Mr. Porter said as he grabbed her hand and started rubbing the tops of them.

"Thank you."

She had all she could do to keep from pulling them away. But she was afraid he would do something to the admiral during the dive if she did.

Since they were going deeper in the trench the admiral and Mr. Porter went on the dive earlier than planned. Janet stayed in her office the whole time the bathyscaphe was on the dive. Mr. Porter had found some more data she needed to enter as he forgot to give it to her the other day.

((()))

Lee went back to the control room after they launched the bathyscaphe. He was standing at the plotting table tapping his pencil. Something was wrong with Janet. She was acting very strange but he couldn't figure out what it was.

"Chip does Janet seem alright to you?" Lee asked worriedly.

"She seems a little tense. Maybe she's just tired from being overworked. That guy Porter doesn't really do too much. Why can't he put the data in the computer after he analyzes it? He knows more about it than she does," Chip responded honestly.

"That's what I told her the other day, and she begged me not to say anything to the admiral. I found her asleep at the computer the other night. Last night was the first night she hasn't been up past midnight since they started analyzing that data from the dives."

"How about I check on her later today and she how she's doing. Maybe I can take over entering the data for the next couple of days. You can run the boat by yourself," Chip said grinning.

"You bet I can. You're in my way most of the time anyway," Lee told him laughing as the two of them returned to what they were doing at the plotting table.

((()))

The bathyscaphe took two hours to get down to four thousand feet. They would take more samples of ooze at this level and hoped to find some amphipods. They would spend about three hours down there before coming back up.

When they returned, the admiral was going to help Mr. Porter analyze what they found. He was very interested in the amphipods.

They would take the samples and check them for their chemistry and identification. Even with both of them doing the analysis it would still take several hours before they would have the data to Janet. It looked like it would be another long night.

Mr. Porter gave Janet the data to put into the computer at 2100 hours that night.

"I know it's late but this must be put in the computer tonight. Since this is the deepest we've gone they want the information right away so they can compare it with the data we've already sent them," he told her as he handed her the information.

He grabbed her hands started to rub them against his chest. He let them go so she could type in the data.

"Yes, sir," she responded and started typing.

As she was typing he started to massage the back of her neck and moved his hands down her back.

"Please stop, I'm having a hard time typing with you doing that," she told him nervously.

"Too bad, keep typing. I know your husband likes a late night cup of coffee," he hissed as he continued.

Finally she had enough. She pushed him away. She pushed him a little too hard and he fell against the corner of her desk about five feet away and put a huge gash in the back of his head. His head was bleeding profusely. There was blood on the desk and the floor.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to push you that hard, please don't hurt my husband," she said sobbing.

"You'll be sorry you did this," he said viciously as he grabbed the back of his head and found his hand covered in blood.

Chip was on his way to her office to see if he could help her out today and walked in just after she pushed Mr. Porter.

He saw the blood on the floor and desk. Grabbing the cabin mic he called sick bay.

"Sick Bay, Doc report to Janet's office immediately. We have a serious injury in here," Chip said urgently.

"Sick Bay, I'll be right there," Jamie replied quickly.

Clicking the mic again, he called the control room.

"Control Room."

"Yes, Chip what's wrong?" Lee asked alarmed at the tone in his voice.

"Lee, you better get to Janet's office right away. There's been an accident."

"On my way," he answered throwing the mic on the table and telling Sparks to take the conn. Lee was working a little later tonight and Mr. O'Brien wasn't due on duty until 2300 hours.

Jamie got to Janet's office and saw Mr. Porter with his head bleeding. After he looked it over he knew he would need quite a few stitches. Just as he was taking Mr. Porter to sick bay, Lee came in and was amazed at the amount of blood all over.

"How is he Jamie?" Lee asked seriously.

"He'll need a few stitches, but head wounds do bleed a lot so it's not as bad as it seems," Jamie replied as he walked away.

"What the hell happened in here," Lee asked Janet as he went over to her as she sat on the bunk. "Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to push him that hard. I couldn't take it anymore," she said sobbing. "Please don't let the admiral fire me."

"Sweetie, what are you talking about? Take what anymore," he asked worriedly putting his arm around her.

As she was going to tell him what happened, the admiral and Mr. Rosen walked in and saw the blood all over.

"Lee, what's going on here," the admiral asked curtly.

"I don't know sir. That's what I'm trying to find out. All I know is Mr. Porter has a gash in his head and is in sick bay."

"Let's go to my office," the admiral said tersely.

"Admiral, I'm going to go to sick bay and see how Don is doing," Mr. Rosen said angrily. "I'll check in with you later."

"Chip could you please get someone to clean up in here," Lee asked. "And then go to the control room, I left Sparks in charge. I'll fill you in later."

"Yes, Lee. No problem." He called maintenance to come and clean up the office and left for the control room.

The admiral, Lee and Janet walked to his office. She could tell he was not happy. She was so scared he would fire her for pushing Mr. Porter. The admiral could tell Janet was very upset as she was shaking.

They sat down in the chairs in the front of the admiral's desk. He opened the bottom drawer of his desk a pull out a bottle of brandy and a glass.

"Here drink this," he told her as he handed her the brandy.

"No sir, I don't want it," she said softly.

"Janet, that wasn't a request, it was an order."

"Yes sir," she replied and drank it down in one gulp.

Lee was surprised she not only drank it but did it in one gulp. She had to admit it did calm her down a little and it sure got warm in the admiral's office all of a sudden.

"Now, please tell us what happened in your office," the admiral said calmly.

"Mr. Porter was massaging my back. He told me if I didn't let him do it, he would do something to Lee's coffee."

"Damn, why didn't you say something," Lee asked her angrily as he ran his hand through his hair. "We could have stopped him."

"Lee, there's more," she said quietly. "Ever since he came aboard he's been touching and harassing me. If I didn't let him do it, he threatened to hurt more people. He was responsible for the admiral's accident in the bathyscaphe. He caused his air valve to malfunction. He also said he would do something to the boat's coffee to make everyone sick."

"I'm going to kill him," Lee threatened and started to get up.

"Lee, sit down," the admiral commanded. "I will get to the bottom of this. Do you have any proof that he did any of those things?"

"No sir. It will be my word against his," she said sadly. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to push him that hard to hurt him. I just wanted to get him away from me. Please don't fire me," she pleaded.

"Honey, I'm not going to fire you. I'm sorry you had to put up with what he did," the admiral said sympathetically. "I need to know where else he touched you."

"Just my arms and back, he would hold my hands and rub them. He's being doing it since he got on board. He would also rub my shoulders and arms," she told him sobbing.

"Okay, I'm going to check on him in sick bay. I don't know if he will tell me the truth but until we get back to Pearl, I'm going to confine him to his cabin. Lee, take Janet back to your cabin and stay there. I will let you know what I find out."

"But admiral, please I need to..." Lee started to say.

"Lee, don't make this any harder on you or Janet," the admiral stated firmly. "I don't want you to do something _you will_ regret later."

"Yes sir."

They got up and left the admiral's cabin and went to theirs.

((()))

"Sweetheart, I'm sorry. I had no idea what was going on. I could see you were nervous but I thought it was because of all the work you needed to do. I should have asked you what was happening."

"Lee I wanted to tell you but I was afraid he would hurt you or someone else on the boat."

"I'm sorry you had to endure what he did to you. But if you ever have a problem with anyone on this boat whether it be a crew member or civilian you must tell me immediately no matter what they threaten to do," he said as he gathered her in his arms.

"'Yes, Lee," she replied putting her head on his chest relieved it was over. She couldn't see the guilt he had in his eyes for letting this happen to her.

There was a knock on the door. Chip was off duty and wanted to know what took place in Janet's office.

"What happened in there? I don't think I've every seen that much blood from a gash in the head."

"Janet pushed him away from her. He'd been touching her since he came aboard. He threatened to hurt me and members of the crew if she didn't let him. He tampered with the air valve in the admiral's compartment to prove he meant business."

"I'm glad I went up to check on her. Who knows what he would've done. You really shoved him hard."

"Thanks Chip, for checking on me. I had no idea what he was going to do next," she said tears starting to run down her cheeks again. "I really didn't mean to push him that hard. I just wanted him to get away from me."

"Man if I ever get my hands on him, he'll be very sorry."

"I'm right behind you," Chip stated.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The admiral went to sick bay to check on Mr. Porter. He was livid at what Janet had just told him. Jamie just finished putting in ten stitches in the back of Mr. Porter's head. Mr. Rosen was there along with Mr. Howard who was still in sick bay recovering from his appendix operation.

Confronting Mr. Porter, the admiral stated, "Mr. Porter, I understand you've been touching Mrs. Crane since you got on board. You threatened to hurt her husband and members of this crew if she didn't let you touch her. She said you tampered with the air valve in the bathyscaphe."

"Admiral you must be kidding. I did nothing of the sort. She was the one who came on to me. If she wanted more than to have me touch her I would have no problem giving her what she wanted. She's a very nice looking woman."

"That's a bunch of shit," the admiral retorted. "There is no way in hell she would ever have done that."

"Admiral those are pretty strong allegations," Mr. Rosen said.

"Mr. Rosen, I believe every word she said."

The only one who didn't see surprised was Mr. Howard who finally spoke up.

"Andrew, didn't you ever wonder why all the secretaries kept leaving. Even the ones that had been there for years left right after you hired Don," Mr. Howard remarked.

"Yes I did think it was odd, but I figured they got better jobs or more money. Did you see him touch any of them?" Rosen asked cautiously.

"Yes, but he threatened me so I was afraid of him too," Mr. Howard said cowardly. "He put some barbiturates in my coffee to show me what he would do if I spoke up."

The admiral and Mr. Rosen looked at Mr. Porter and knew he lied. The admiral was having a hard time controlling his emotions. He wanted to slug him. The admiral looked at Jamie and could tell he wanted to hit him too.

"In light of what has happened, Mr. Porter will be confined to his quarters for the rest of this mission. As of now, we are heading back to Pearl Harbor. I will make arrangements with the base commander there to have a police escort for him when we dock."

"Admiral, I'm very sorry this happened to Mrs. Crane. Do you think I could talk to her?" Mr. Rosen asked solemnly.

"I will ask her and let you know. Jamie can Mr. Porter be released to his cabin?"

"Yes admiral there is no reason for him to stay here. I will check on him tomorrow in his cabin."

The admiral picked up the mic, "Master-at-arms."

"Aye sir."

"Please come to sick bay on the double."

"Yes sir."

The master-at-arms was at the sick bay door in two minutes.

"Please take Mr. Porter to his cabin and sees that he stays there. No on is to enter his cabin except Dr. Jamieson and Mr. Rosen without my permission especially Captain Crane."

"Aye, aye sir."

The MAA took Mr. Porter by the arm and led him to his cabin.

"Admiral is Janet okay?" Jamie asked worriedly.

"I think so, but I will let her know you are available if she needs you."

((()))

After confining Mr. Porter to his cabin, the admiral went to Lee and Janet's cabin to tell them what Mr. Porter had told him.

"Admiral you know me better than that, please tell me you didn't believe him?" Janet pleaded.

"I never doubted your story. I knew his was lying but it's still your word against his. What pisses me off is that Mr. Howard was being bullied by him and knew he was touching other women and never gave us a warning that there could be a problem with him.

"I'm sorry for all the problems I caused. I never meant to hurt him."

"I know that. I've confined Mr. Porter to his cabin for the rest of the mission. We're heading back to Pearl Harbor. _No one_ especially you _**Lee**_ are to see him. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir," they both replied as Lee paced up and down the cabin clenching and unclenching his fists.

The admiral was worried what Lee would do if he saw Mr. Porter. The admiral could tell he was mad as hell.

By this time it was 0100 hours and Janet was emotionally and physically exhausted. They went to bed and she fell asleep in Lee's arms.

The admiral went to the control room and told Mr. O'Brien to set a course for Pearl Harbor.

((()))

Later the next day, Lee tried to get into Mr. Porter's cabin. He wanted to talk to him and Kowalski was on guard. As he reached for the door knob, Kowalski stepped in front of it.

"Kowalski, let me in," Lee ordered.

"No, sorry sir. No one is allowed in there, especially you," he told Lee quietly.

"Lee, I specifically told you not to go in there," the admiral yelled as he entered the passageway on the way to his cabin and saw Lee trying to get in.

"Sir, I just need to ask him why he did it to her," Lee pleaded. "Please let me go in. You can come in and watch that I don't do anything to him."

"No, Lee and that's an order," the admiral stated. "I realize you feel responsible for what happened to Janet but there is nothing you can do now. Please leave son." And Lee, I'm sorry I made you take on this mission. I should have done a little more research on the company."

"Yes, sir," Lee said as the admiral put his hand on Lee's shoulder as they walked away.

Kowalski and none of the crew knew what had taken place. But whatever happened must not have been very pleasant for the skipper to be that upset.

((()))

Janet went to sick bay that morning not that she was sick but to talk to Jamie and see how Mr. Porter was. He gave her hug when she walked in.

"Are you okay?" he asked with a concerned look. "Did he hurt you?"

"No he didn't hurt me, just touched me on my arms and shoulders. I'll be okay. I'm mad at myself for not telling anyone and I really didn't mean to hurt him."

"He isn't hurt that bad. If you need to talk at any time, please come and see me."

"Thanks Jamie."

She left sick bay and was on her way to her office when Mr. Rosen tracked her down. As Lee came into the passageway he saw Mr. Rosen talking to her and joined them.

"I'm very sorry Mrs. Crane," he apologized profusely, "I never realized what was going on not only here but in my offices in Hawaii. I will make sure this never happens again."

"I accept your apology," she told him reluctantly, "I will also finish entering the rest of the data from the last dive. There isn't too much more to enter and I want to complete the job I started."

"That's very gracious of you. I really do appreciate it."

"Captain please also accept my apology. I'm very sorry for what happen to your wife."

"Yes, sir," Lee replied tersely as he kept clenching and unclenching his fists.

She could tell Lee was ready to punch him for not knowing what was happening in his office. She grabbed his arm and they went into her office.

He couldn't wait to get them all off _Seaview_ but they still had three more days of their company.

((()))

They docked at Pearl, where there was a police escort for Mr. Porter. Lee didn't care about them. He just wanted them all off his boat.

As the MAA brought Mr. Porter out the sail hatch and down the gangplank he had to pass Janet, Lee, Chip, Jamie and the admiral. Jamie was standing next to Janet as Mr. Porter walked by her. She looked him straight in the eye as he walked past her. She would never let anyone bully or harass her again.

The admiral and Chip stood very close to Lee and could feel him tense up as Porter walked by him. They were afraid he would take a swipe at him not that they blamed him as they all would've like to have a swipe at him too. Once he passed, Lee relaxed and the admiral and Chip moved away from him. They made eye contact and both let out a sigh of relief.

"Thanks. If you weren't there to stop me, they'd be putting me in jail right now," Lee stated as he left to stand next to Janet and squeezed her hand.

Janet would have to go to the police station and give a statement to the police as to what had taken place. They all hoped Mr. Porter wouldn't press charges of assault against her for pushing him. Chip would oversee the unloading of all the supplies, computer and the bathyscaphe while Janet, Lee and the admiral went to the police station.

((()))

When they arrived at the station, the police took Janet's statement. There wasn't much they could charge Mr. Porter with as it was her word against his when it came to the faulty air valve on the bathyscaphe. The admiral did run a test on the coffee in Lee's cabin and in the crew's mess but found nothing in there and brought the results with him. Hopefully the women at A. R. Laboratories would come forward and tell the police what he did to them so no other person would have to endure what they did. Mr. Howard was also going to give them a statement.

((()))

As the left the police station, the admiral said, "That was quite a nice little bathyscaphe they had. Too bad it's a little too big for us to carry around."

"No thanks. I'll stick to my bathysphere." Lee stated.

After they pulled up to the dock, Lee opened the door for Janet. She got out of the car and gave her husband a kiss.

"What's that for?" he asked smiling.

"Because you didn't slug him as he walked by. I don't have enough money to bail you out of jail," she grinned.

They walked hand in hand down the gangplank behind the admiral but before they got to the sail hatch the admiral turned around.

"Lee, since we got back to Pearl sooner than we planned, why don't we stay here for a couple of days. Give the crew shore leave so they can enjoy the island and fresh air. You and Janet, along with Chip can take the first rotation. I'll stay aboard with Bobby, Sharkey, Jamie and Sparks. We'll take our leave when you get back.

"That sounds like a good idea," Lee agreed. Chip was nodding his head in agreement.

"Chip and I will set up the rotation so everyone gets some time away but we'll still have all important posts covered on _Seaview_ and on deck."

They continued into the sail hatch and down the ladder to the control room where Lee and Chip started working on the shore leave schedule. They had it worked out in an hour.

The crew was very happy they would get some leave. Hawaii was a very nice place to get shore leave, lots of sights to see and nice looking women.

As the first group was leaving the boat, Chip reminded them, "Men please don't get into any trouble or fights and be back on time so I don't have to look for you or bail you out of jail.

Lee smiled as Chip gave the crew their instructions. He knew they could get a little rowdy sometimes.

"Aye, aye, sir," they all answered.

((()))

Since they would get the first leave, Janet went back to their cabin while Lee and Chip worked on the schedule. She grabbed a duffle bag and put in some clothes for her and Lee. Lee came to the cabin about an hour later and she had everything packed.

"You ready to leave," he asked giving her a kiss.

"Yes, let's go before the admiral changes his mind."

Lee grabbed the duffle bag and they left the cabin just as Chip was leaving his. They walked down the passageway to the spiral staircase and went down to the observation nose.

The admiral was in the observation nose watching the crew leave and saw them come down the staircase.

"Have a nice leave," the admiral told them winking at Janet.

"Thank you, admiral. I'm sure we'll have a wonderful leave," she winked back.

They went up the ladder to the sail and walked down the gangplank to the dock. They walked to the end of the dock and hailed a taxi. Since they didn't have a lot of time to spend in Hawaii, Lee checked and found rooms with an ocean view at the Hale Koa Hotel. It was a hotel for military personnel. They checked in and of course Chip was hungry. They went to the Koko Cafe in the hotel.

"This sure is a nice change of plans," Chip said eating a Black Jack Burger with fries. He also ordered a piece of coconut cream pie.

"Yes it is nice," Lee commented as he ate a Koko burger.

Janet sat there eating her Spicy Chicken salad watching the two of them. She was glad to see they both had finally relaxed. When they were finished they went for a walk on the beach. As they were walking back to the hotel, they walked by a bar and saw Patterson sitting there. Chip decided to go in instead of going back to the hotel.

"We're going back to the hotel," Lee told Chip before he went into the bar, "Please don't get into any trouble. I don't want to have to bail _you_ out of jail.

"Yes sir," Chip saluted and patted him on the back.

Kowalski, Patterson and Riley were already there enjoying the music and dancing with some of the women. They all stopped what they were doing when he came in.

"Don't stop on my account," he told them as he sat next to Patterson at the bar and ordered a beer. He also danced with a few of the women in the bar.

((()))

When Lee and Janet got back to their room, Lee took the 'Do Not Disturb' sign and put it on the door. He took Janet into his arms and gave her a passionate kiss. He led her over to the bed and gently laid her down where he made love to her. With what had happened on _Seaview's_ mission it had been awhile and they both missed the affection between them. When they were finished, Lee put on a white shirt and shorts and went out on the balcony. The sun was setting and the clouds were rolling in. It looked like rain. He turned around to look at his wife who was watching him from the bedroom.

"What's wrong honey? You have a tormented look on your face," she asked as she grabbed her robe and joined him on the balcony.

"Just thinking of how I let you down by not finding out what was really bothering you."

"You didn't let me down. You could never let me down. I was just as much to blame by not saying anything," she replied taking his hand and bringing him back into the room.

"Let's go back to bed," she suggested as she dropped her robe.

He took off his shirt and shorts and joined her in bed where they stayed for the rest of the night.

((()))

They awoke the next morning and were famished. They got dressed, packed their duffle bag and were leaving the room to get some breakfast just as Chip was leaving his. He looked a little hung over.

"We're going to breakfast," Lee told him with a grin, "Care to join us?"

"I need coffee. I'm too old to hang around with Kowalski, Patterson and Riley. I didn't get back until 0300 hours. It's now 0700. It's a good thing were still in port. I would never get _Seaview_ out of the harbor today.

"Damn," Lee said, "there went a free dinner for sure."

All three of them where laughing as they walked to the cafe for breakfast.

When they finished breakfast they hailed a cab and went back to the dock to relieve the admiral, Sharkey, Sparks and Jamie.

((()))

They boarded the boat and went into the control room as the rest of the men were getting ready to leave. Chip made a beeline for the coffee pot in the observation nose.

"Welcome Lee, Janet, Chip. Enjoy your leave?" the admiral asked with a grin. He noticed Chip was not his normal self.

"Yes sir. Any problems?" Lee wanted to know.

"None so far. Chip okay?" he asked with a grin.

"A little hung over. He hung out with Kowalski, Patterson and Riley last night."

Smiling Nelson said, "I'll be back later on tomorrow. I'm going to visit a friend of mine I haven't seen in ages. Call me if you need me."

"Aye, aye sir." Lee answered, "Enjoy visiting your friend."

Lee gave the same speech Chip did to the next group of men to leave.

With half the crew gone and nothing pressing in the control room, Lee and Chip went to their cabins to finish up some reports and logs that needed to be done. Janet was still trying to catch up on all the work that was left behind when she was entering the data from the dives. She would have more work to do once Lee and Chip finished what they were working on. At least she would be busy on the way back to Santa Barbara.

The day flew by and Chip, Lee and Janet finally were able to meet for dinner in the wardroom. The mess specialist on duty served them the leftovers from the mission. Cookie was on shore leave and ordering supplies for the trip home.

"What's wrong Chip you still don't look good," Janet asked him worriedly.

"I've had a headache all day; remind me never to drink again."

Laughing Lee said, "You're getting old bro."

They would have an early start tomorrow getting _Seaview_ out of the harbor so they went back to their cabins after enjoying the dinner the mess specialists made for them.

((()))

The next morning, Lee and Chip were on the dock checking in the crew when the admiral returned.

"Did you enjoy your shore leave, Admiral," Lee asked noticing the blond that dropped him off and a lipstick mark on his face.

"Just fine Lee," the admiral replied wiping off his face. "Are we ready to shove off?"

"Yes sir. All the crew has reported back. I'm happy to say no one got in trouble this time."

Chip and Chief Sharkey were on the also on dock watching the crew load the supplies Cookie ordered to get them back to Santa Barbara. They also had grins on their faces when they saw the admiral.

Once the supplies were loaded Chip instructed the dock hands to remove the gangplank and prepare for them to shove off.

((()))

Lee let Chip take _Seaview_ out of the harbor this time. Janet got to go in the conning tower to watch him maneuver _Seaview_ out of the harbor and make sure he didn't scratch the paint. As they came down the ladder into the control room, Lee was waiting for an answer.

"Well, did he scratch the paint?" Lee asked with a smirk.

"Yes, he did," Janet told Lee in a very serious tone.

Chip almost had a heart attack.

"How could you say that? I never was close enough to anything to scratch her paint," Chip said looking at her appalled.

"No of course he didn't," she said grinning. "I just wanted to see his reaction if I told you he did."

"You're going to be sorry Janet Crane," Chip said teasingly. "I _will_ get you for that."

The admiral was in the observation nose and heard the conversation between the three of them. He just shook his head and knew all things were back to normal.

The End.

Thank you for reading the story and I hope you enjoyed it.


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